China - Through the Looking Glass.
Since Vogue announced the theme of Met exhibition and Gala of 2015 will be “China: Through the Looking Glass", China has been receiving increasing attentions from fashion world and the West. This exihibition interprets how Westerners have understood Chinese culture and how high designers infuse Chinese factors into their collections. The exhibition also incorporates painting, decorative arts, and filmic representations of China. It will open to the public from May 7 to August 16 after the opening night gala, more commonly known as the Met Ball.
Before the exhibition opens, let's trace the history of those Chinese-inspired consumes.
Left: Evening coat , c. 1925. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: Gold embroidered red Mangpao, Late Qing dynasty. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Film still from 'The Last Emperor ', 1987. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, HELMSDALE FILM CORP
Right: Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford, 2004. Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Vase with Dragon (Chinese ), early 15th century. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: Evening Dress, Roberto Cavalli, Fall/Winter 2005-6. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Anna May Wong, 'Daughter of the Dragon', 1931. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: Ralph Lauren, 2005, Winter Series gown. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left:Court robe, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), 19th century. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: Evening Gown, Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent , Fall/Winter 2004-5. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Zhang Xu, "abdominal pain post". Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: Christian Dior, "Quiproquo", cocktail dress, 1951. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Left: Film "In the Mood for Love", 2000, showing the 1960's Hong Kong. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right: John Galliano for Dior, Winter 1997. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Andrew Bolton is shepherding curatorial preparations for the exhibition. The filmmaker Wong Kar-wai is overseeing its art direction. Silas Chou hosts the gala on May 4, with Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, Marissa Mayer, Wendi Murdoch, and Anna Wintour serving as co-chairs.
The list of celebrities and designers was just revealed on April 27.
Celebrities: Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Julianne Moore, Katy Perry, Seth Meyers, James Corden, Harvey Weinstein, Jessica Chastain, Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Danes, Hugh Dancy, Colin Firth, Livia Firth, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Ethan Hawke,
Dakota Johnson, Spike Jonze, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Baz Luhrmann, Sienna Miller, Carey Mulligan, Marcus Mumford, Rita Ora, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Ivanka Trump, Florence Welch, Allison Williams, Reese Witherspoon
Models: Karlie Kloss and Cara Delevingne
Designers: Christopher Bailey, Tory Burch, Sarah Burton, Georgina Chapman, Kenneth Cole, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, Peter Copping, Francisco Costa, Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana, Alber Elbaz, Alberta Ferretti, Tom Ford, Valentino Garavani, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Lazaro Hernandez, Carolina Herrera, Dee and Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld, Derek Lam, Ralph Lauren, Jenna Lyons, Stella McCartney, Alasdhair Willis, Jack McCollough, Tamara Mellon, Gilles Mendel, Marcus Wainwright, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Thakoon Panichgul, Zac Posen, Miuccia Prada, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci, Giambattista Valli, Dries Van Noten, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, Vera Wang, David Neville, Jason Wu
Chinese celebrities ：Ziyi Zhang, Bingbing Fan, Wei Zhao, Xun Zhou, Bingbing Li, Yuanyuan Gao, Wei Tang, Ni ni, Yuchun Li, Jialing Lliu, Kun Chen, Yifan Wu.
